As France readies for a tourism surge for this summer’s Olympic Games, UN Tourism has revealed that the country is already the world’s most visited destination, easily maintaining its status for the second year in a row with 100 million international tourist arrivals in 2023. But who’s next?
Following France were perennial favourites Spain (85 million), the US (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Türkiye, which closed the top five with 55 million international tourists.
Completing the top 10 most-visited destinations last year were Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, and Austria. Compared to before the pandemic, Italy, Türkiye, Mexico, Germany and Austria all rose one position, while the United Kingdom rose from 10th to 7th and Greece from 13th to 9th.
On the side on international tourism receipts, the ranking is led by the United States, earning US$176 billion in 2023, followed by Spain ($92 billion), the UK ($74 billion), France ($69 billion) and Italy ($56 billion). Canada placed 9th, climbing from 15th last year.
Top spenders
Meanwhile, China recovered its position as top spender on international tourism in 2023 as Asia and the Pacific consolidated its recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. Canadians ranked sixth.